Why Michelin’s green star became unsustainable

Meanwhile, for the Whitebrook in Monmouthshire, the addition of a green star to its one-red-star status in 2024 was a much-appreciated recognition from Michelin and of interest to its guests, who were drawn to the restaurant’s sustainable approach.

Chef-owner Chris Harrod said: “The green star played an important role in bringing sustainability into the spotlight. It encouraged more diners to think about where they choose to eat and gave restaurants across the industry greater motivation to focus on environmental responsibility. Ultimately, the disappearance of the green star won’t affect how we work. Our priorities remain exactly the same and sustainability will continue to guide the choices we make as a business.”

Last in the queue

Michelin first introduced the green star back in 2020 to recognise restaurants with strong sustainability practices. Chantelle Nicholson’s Apricity in London, Tommy Banks’ Black Swan in Oldstead and Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume in Cartmel were some of the early recipients. But by late 2025 signs of change were already emerging. Restaurants were reporting their green star motif had been downgraded on Michelin’s website and replaced with a green box and a logo positioned further down the page, and the search filter for green star restaurants was removed altogether.

“It’s no longer enough for sustainability to be vague or simply an aspirational ‘nice to have’”

And for the seven new restaurants awarded with a green star at the 2026 UK and Ireland ceremony in Dublin? They didn’t even receive a physical trophy to take home with them.

At the time Michelin responded by insisting the green star still existed as a “complementary recognition to culinary distinctions (red stars)”, but it was “neither a label nor a certification” of sustainability practices.

For some hospitality figures, Michelin’s retreat was inevitable.

Sue Williams, former general manager of Whatley Manor Hotel & Spa in Malmesbury in Wiltshire and founder of sustainability consultancy Positive Hospitality, argued the green star had become difficult to sustain in an era of stricter environmental scrutiny and anti-greenwashing regulation, specifically the EU’s Empowering Consumer Directive (EmpCo), which came into force in March 2026.

“The directive exists to prevent mis-selling and greenwashing,” she explained. “With the arrival of EmpCo, full accountability and independent audits are required to be able to back up green claims for businesses operating in Europe.

Williams pointed out that Michelin – which is headquartered in France – would struggle to keep its green star programme under the new directive, because “it did not have a framework that could be worked towards”.

“Because, in truth, no one knew how they were awarded,” she said. “It was not science based, it was not audited and therefore not fully transparent, so it was impossible to substantiate.”

Juliane Caillouette-Noble, chief executive of the Sustainable Restaurant Association, also pointed to the increasingly tight legislation that led to the retiring of the green stars: “Once the EU adopted the Empowering Consumers Directive, it was clear that without a transparent framework behind it, the green star’s days were numbered.”

When Michelin was asked by The Caterer if the EU’s legislation was the main driver for abandoning its green star, it responded: “Like any organisation with a global footprint, we face a wide variety of regulations from country to country”, and pointed to its new Mindful Voices editorial initiative, designed to “highlight the inspiring practices of chefs, hoteliers and wine producers, who are committed to contributing to the responsible development of their industries.”

But Caillouette-Noble is confident the move doesn’t mean the end of sustainability in hospitality.

“It signals the very necessary shift in what we demand from hospitality,” she said. “From every standpoint – environmental, social, legislative and even the long-term survival of the sector – it’s no longer enough for sustainability to be vague or simply an aspirational ‘nice to have’.

“People have not stopped expecting more from the restaurants they visit; they have not stopped caring about the treatment of people in this industry or the future of the planet we call home. But now and into the future, this work needs to deliver real change through tangible, transparent and ongoing action. And this was never something the green star was designed or positioned to accomplish.”

Photo: Emvat Mosakovskis/Shutterstock